Abstract: Employee #1, a California correctional facility officer, notified his employer that he was hospitalized for two days for surgery and treatment of a severe infection on the back of his right knee. Employee #1 provided confirmation that the laboratory results showed that the infection contained methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The employer is a California correctional facility and their policy was that MRSA infections were considered to be work related unless a specific a nonwork exposure incident was identified. Employee #1 was a correctional officer who had routine occupational exposure to inmates, their living spaces, and their personal items. Employee #1 visited his personal physician for treatment of his infection and was admitted as an inpatient on April 22, 2008 for surgery on the wound and was not released until April 24, 2008.